New Delhi [India], September 16 : Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has denied a viral quote that was falsely attributed to him in the aftermath of the handshake row during the clash between two arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, at the Asia Cup.
Amid the worsening ties between India and Pakistan, the two sides squared off against each other for the first time since the terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22 in Dubai on Sunday. Despite the backlash and the call for a boycott, the fixture went ahead and sparked a new controversy.
Shaking hands after the toss and the match has been a longstanding practice in cricket. However, the Indian players refused to shake hands with their counterparts after securing a landslide 7-wicket victory in Dubai. In response, Pakistan pulled out of the post-match presentation.
While fans and former cricketers weighed in on the entire incident, Ponting became an unfortunate victim and got tangled in the handshake controversy. A post surfaced on social media with a picture of Ponting, calling India a "perpetual sore loser", and it went viral.
Later, a version of the post emerged while attributing the quotes to Sky Sports and read, "This match will be remembered forever with India as the big loser. The way the Pakistani team wanted to shake hands at the end immortalised them as champions of the gentleman's game with India as the perpetual sore loser".
In the early hours of Tuesday, Ponting categorically denied the remarks attributed to him and wrote on X, "I am aware of certain comments being attributed to me on social media. Please know that I categorically did not make those statements and indeed have made no public comment about the Asia Cup as all".
The handshake row escalated after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lodged a complaint against match referee Andy Pycroft, accusing him of violating the ICC Code of Conduct and the MCC laws relating to the spirit of cricket. According to sources, the International Cricket Council (ICC) will not entertain Pakistan's request and indicated that the PCB's request will be denied.
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